Side mounted truck tie-down rail

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to the art of securing cargo in the bed of a pickup truck. A slotted bar is secured to the upper inside wall in the bed of a truck where the structural flange is formed around the bed. When the rail is mounted on a vehicle it provides a plurality of tie down locations and increases the structural strength of the side walls. The tie down does not interfere with a bed cover. The tie down is fabricated from one or multiple pieces that are linkable to extend the length of the tie down and allow for configuration changes based upon the dimensions of the truck bed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a vehicle tie-down rail. More particularly,the present invention relates to a tie down rail for a truck or othersimilar vehicle where the tie-down rail is mounted inside the bed of thetruck on the upper side of the bed of the truck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many vehicle manufacturers place stake pockets through the top rail ofthe pick up bed and are placed on the sides of the bed. After markettie-down devices are available for these pockets. The disadvantage ifthe stake bed anchors are the limited number of locations where thestake bed pockets are found on each side of the truck. A typical truckonly has three pockets and no pockets are placed behind the passengercompartment or on the tale gate to allow cargo to be secured. Anotherconsideration is with the transportation of multiple items in the bed ofa truck where the tie down points must be utilized with multiple hooksall utilizing the same attachment location.

Another system for pick-up truck tie-down rails is rails that areattached to the top of the sides of the bed. Exemplary examples ofpatents covering this type of tie downs are found in U.S. Pat. No.4,650,382 issued to Johnson on Mar. 17, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,024issued to Davenport on Oct. 27, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,658 issued toRowe on Jan. 23, 2001, U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,349 issued to Okland on Dec.19, 1995 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,719 issued to Cardwell on Oct. 10,1989. These rails are usually higher than the side of the truck and donot allow for the load to be secured and properly synched. When usingthese tie-downs the load can often be pulled out of the bed of the truckas opposed to being tied down to the floor of the bed. These systemsalso inhibit the use of a bed covers, truck caps or tonneau covers.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,140 issued to Anderson et al. on Jan. 24, 2005discloses a Flexible Truck Bed Tie-Down System having elongated “U”shaped rails that run down the sides, back and bottom of a truck bed.These rails are an integrated part of the truck frame and are not anaftermarket product that is added to a truck after it is built. Theelongated slots further do not provide defined locations for attachmentnor do they provide open slots for the securing of straps or belts.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,089 issued to Tekavec on Feb. 26, 2002 discloses aPickup Truck Ben Portable Tie-Down Apparatus. The portable apparatustemporarily clamps to the inside lip of a truck and is removed byloosening the clamping mechanism. These tie downs are only for temporaryusage and do not extend the length of the side and back wall of a truck.The portable tie-down does not provide elongated slots for the securingof belts of straps.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,927 issued to Wheatley on Oct. 5, 2004 discloses aTie Down Anchor System formed from sheet metal that is attached to thesides and bottom of the bed of a truck. The anchor system includes aseries of rectangular holes for securing hooks and custom fasteninghardware. The side mounting components do not mount of the upper lip ofthe bed nor does the anchor system mount to the back of the cab portionof the bed. This mounting system is not adjustable to accommodatedifferent length truck beds.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,211 issued to Lund on November 15, 1994 discloses aSide Rail Anchor Bar that mounts onto the top of the side walls thatsurround the bed of a truck and includes a series of turned rods forattaching hooks and the like. It does not include slots for attachingbelts or straps.

What is needed is a vehicle tie-down system that is secured to theinside lip of a truck bed. The tie down should further be mountable tothe back cab portion of truck bed and provide features for theattachment of both hooks and strapping material. The proposed truck tiedowns provide this solution with a length adjustable tie down systemthat is mountable to the inside lip of a truck bed to provide fasteningand adds structural strength to the truck.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the side mounted truck tie down rail to provide arail system that can be fabricated in various lengths and the lengthscan be secured together to create a rail system of longer or shorterlengths to accommodate a variety of truck bed lengths. The versatilityof the tie-down rail further allows the rail to be mounted behind thecab or on the tailgate.

It is another object of the present apparatus to provide multipletie-down points along the sides and front of the bed that are easilyaccessible. These multiple tie-down location consists of elongated slotsthat provide the ability to attach hooks and or straps. In many casessecuring of a load requires the use of both types of securing materials.The slotted design allows for multiple tie-down to be used at the sametime or to accommodate odd size loads or different sized loads that aredifficult to accommodate with tie down rails that are currentlyavailable.

It is another object of the present apparatus to provide the slotted barwith has countersunk holes between each slot to secure the bar to theflange of the truck bed allowing for a sturdy hold with no screw headsprotruding out into the cargo area.

It is another object of the present apparatus to provide tie-down railsthat are mounted on the inner flange a tonneau, truck cap or tarps arenot obstructed by the rails, nor do you need to remove the rails toinstall these truck bed covers. The installation of tie-down railsinside the bed produce a sleek look at the same time providing thefunctionality to secure cargo under the bed covers.

It is another object of the present apparatus to provide a tie-down barthat is mountable behind the cab, cargo can now be secured side to frontor side to side depending upon the needs of the cargo being secured toproperly and safely retain the load as it is being transported.

It is another object of the present tie-down to secure a tie down lowerin the bed of the vehicle. This reduces the possibility that the load islifted when it is being secured.

It is still another object of the present apparatus to increase thestrength of the bed of the truck body when the tie-down rail is attachedto the truck bed. Because the truck bed is formed from bent sheet metalthe strength of the side walls is weak and when the sides are drawntogether to secure a load the walls can deform. The attachment of therailing on the inside of the truck bed provides additional structuralmembers that creates a stronger side wall to allow the load to besecured more firmly when the cargo is being strapped down or into thetruck.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a view of the side mounted truck tie-downs mounted to theinside of a truck bed.

FIG. 2 shows the tie-down rail in a two piece configuration

FIG. 3 shows the tie-down rail system configured in linkable pieces.

FIG. 4 shows the tie-down rail attached to one side and the front of atruck bed.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of the tie-down rail mounted on the side ofa truck bed with a strap and hook attached through the slots.

FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the tie-down rail mounted on theinside of a truck bed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a view of the side mounted truck tie-downs mounted to theinside of a truck bed. The truck 10 is a typical truck having a frontcab section 30 where the driver and any occupants sit. The vehicle has atailgate 40 that is raised or lowered to allow for placement of items orelongated items. Typically the tailgate is opened an items that will beplaced and secured in the back of truck are brought in through the opentailgate. Once the items are brought into the bed of the truck they aresecured with tie-downs. In the preferred embodiment the tie downs arelocated on the inside peripheral edge of the truck bed. In accordancewith this embodiment the tie-downs are bolted to the structural flangearea formed around the perimeter of the truck bed on the right shown asa single piece 70, left shown in two sections 50 and 55, and the frontshown as 60. In securing cargo with most tie-downs that are availabletoday the tie-downs are only available on the right and left sidesrequiring the load to be secured using two straps pulling in an angulararrangement. The tie-down railing is configured in sections allowing thetie-down railing to be installed according to the length required by theinstallation.

FIG. 2 shows the tie-down rail in a two piece configuration. Thisconfiguration provides the advantages of allowing the railing to befabricated in shorter lengths and installed based upon the dimensions ofthe vehicle. It will be shown in more detail with FIG. 3 that in anothercontemplated embodiment that the railing can be fabricated in linkedpieces allowing it the expand based upon the length required. Theembodiment in FIG. 2 shows the rails as typically configured. Thetie-down railing system shown utilizes two pieces 50 and 55. One end ofeach length includes an angled or chamfered side 53 and 54. This angledside is usually placed on the outer ends when the tie-down railing isinstalled in a truck. The end opposite the chamfered end is keyed 51 and52 to allow the parts to connect together with a fastener such as abolt. The non mounting edges are rounded to reduce the potential ofinjury on the corners and further reduce the possibility of cutting orabrading ropes or straps that are passed through the holes. Sampled havebeen made using rectangular aluminum with a rectangular dimension of1″×⅝″ and 48″ in length. While these dimensions are provided forreference they are not to be understood as the only dimensions that arecontemplated.

Each section is essentially rectangular in cross section where holes orslots are located through the narrow dimension for attaching straps orhooks. The wide portion of the rectangular cross section includescountersunk holes for the placement of hardware such as bolts thatretain the tie-down railing on the vehicle. In the embodiment shown onlyelongated slots 90 are shown for securing a load in the bed. Themultiple elongated slots provide a plurality of securing locations aswell as providing a wide opening for using straps, ropes or the like.While only elongated slots are shown, holes or a combination of slotsand holes can be utilized. It is further contemplated that some slotsmay exist as partially open slots leaving open hooks for attachment oflooped material for hooking through the opening(s).

FIG. 3 shows the tie-down rail system configured in linkable pieces. Thetie-down is shown in three pieces with differing length sections. Theextreme ends 53 and 54 are chamfered as previously described in FIG. 2.Section 56 includes one chamfered end 53 with one keyed end 52 with twoelongated slots. Section 57 includes one chamfered end 54 with one keyedend and three elongated slots 92. The ends of each elongated slot 94 arerounded 94 to reduce the potential of damaging the rope or strap. Inthis section open slot 90 allows passing loop material that is hookedthrough the opening 98 in the slot. Section 58 includes keyed ends 51for joining sections 56 and 57. The keyed ends have through holes wherea fastener such as 104 is placed through the aligned holes 82 in thekeyed sections. In the preferred embodiment the tie-down rail isfabricated from aluminum, but other metals or plastics are contemplatedthat will provide similar appearance and or functionality.

FIG. 4 shows the tie-down rail attached to one side and the front of atruck bed. In this figure just a portion of the truck bed 10 is shown.The tie-downs are mounted on the side 20 of the truck in two pieces 50and 55. Another tie-down is mounted behind the cab 60 to allow the loadto be secured to the forward section of the bed. In this figure anadditional tie-down rail 59 is shown mounted to the bottom of the bed.To provide an additional tie-down location using the same rail as usedin the other aforementioned locations. It is further contemplated that arail can bee mounted on the tailgate portion of a truck to provide andadditional securing location. Because the tie-down rails are mounted onthe inner flange or within the bed of the vehicle they do not interferewith a cover that can be placed over the bed. This allows versatility tosecure a load within the bed of a truck while the truck bed cover isalso installed.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of the tie-down rail mounted on the side ofa truck bed with a strap and hook attached through the slots. A portionof one side of the truck 20 is shown with a portion of the trucktie-down rail 50. This end portion of the rail shows the end chamfer 54with the rounded edges and corners to reduce the potential of damage toperson or property. Counter bored hole 82 is shown where fastener 100 isplaced through the hole to secure the truck tie-down to the inside wallof a truck bed. Fastener 102 is shown seated within a counter boredhole. The head of the fastener is completely recessed below the surfaceof the truck tie-down rail. With the head of the fastener seated belowthe surface of the rail the potential for damage from the head of thefastener is eliminated in addition the potential for the fastener beingtampered with is reduced. An elongated slot 90 is shown with a typicalsecuring hook 115 placed through the hole. In the other slot shown inthis figure a strap 110 is shown placed through the elongated hole.While only elongated slots are shown, holes or a combination of slotsand holes can be utilized.

FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the tie-down rail mounted on theinside of a truck bed. In this cross sectional view one side of thetruck body 20 is shown with the truck tie-down rail 50 mounted on theinside of the bed. Mounting the tie-down rails on the inner flangeincreases the strength of the flange and the side wall of the truck.This allows the user to pull the straps more tightly to secure the load.Fastener 100 is shown seated in the counter bored hole. On the inside ofthe truck wall a washer 106 and nut 104 holds the railing on to thetruck. The slotted bar has countersunk holes between each slot to securethe bar to the flange of the truck bed allowing for a sturdy hold withno screw heads protruding out into the cargo area.

Thus, specific embodiments of a side mounted truck tie-down rail havebeen disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in theart that many more modifications besides those described are possiblewithout departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventivesubject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spiritof the appended claims.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A side mounted truck tie-down rail systemcomprising: at least one elongated rail section configured fromessentially rectangular cross sectional material having a height and awidth where the height is greater the width, a top side, a bottom side,a first end and a second end; each elongated rail has at least onetie-down hole or elongated tie-down slot oriented through said width ofsaid elongated rail; each elongated rail has at least one mounting holelocated near each of the first end and the second end of each saidelongated rail oriented through said height for mounting said bottomside of the elongated rail on an inner flange within a truck bed,wherein, said first end of a first elongated rail is configured forengagement with said second end of a second elongated rail using saidmounting holes to connect said first and said second elongated rails tocreate an elongated rail assembly.
 12. (canceled)
 13. (canceled) 14.(canceled)
 15. The side mounted truck tie-down rail system from claim 11wherein the at least one mounting hole is counter bored into theelongated rail sections such that said counter bored hole allows a headof a fastener installed in said counter bored hole to seat below the topside of the elongated rail section.
 16. (canceled)
 17. (canceled) 18.The side mounted truck tie-down rail system from claim 11 wherein theelongated rail section is mountable on a side, front or tailgate of saidtruck bed.
 19. The side mounted truck tie-down rail system from claim 11wherein when said elongated rail section is the installed on said innerflange within said truck bed said elongated rail section exists below ahorizontal top surface of said truck bed such that said elongated railsection does not interfere with installation of a tonneau cover, bedcover or tarp placed on top of said truck bed.
 20. The side mountedtruck tie-own rail system from claim 11 wherein attachment of one ormore said elongated rail pieces increases bending strength of saidtruck.
 21. The side mounted truck tie-down rail system from claim 12wherein the first end has a recess on said bottom side of said elongatedrail, and the second end has a recess on said top side of said elongatedrail.
 22. The side mounted truck tie-down rail system from claim 12wherein a first end has a recess on said bottom side of said elongatedrail, and the second end has a taper from said top side of saidelongated rail.
 23. The side mounted truck tie-down rail system fromclaim 12 wherein the first end has a recess on said top side of saidelongated rail, and the second end has a taper from said top side ofsaid elongated rail.
 24. The side mounted truck tie-down rail systemfrom claim 16 wherein the first end has a recess on said bottom side ofsaid elongated rail, and the second end has a recess on said top side ofsaid elongated rail.
 25. The side mounted truck tie-down rail systemfrom claim 16 wherein the first end has a recess on said bottom side ofsaid elongated rail, and the second end has a taper from said top sideof said elongated rail.
 26. The side mounted truck tie-own rail systemfrom claim 16 wherein the first end has a recess on said top side ofsaid elongated rail, and the second end has a taper from said top sideof said elongated rail.
 27. The side mounted truck tie-down rail systemfrom claim 11 wherein the at least one tie-down hole or elongatedtie-down slot is at least partially open to said top side of saidelongated rail.